As an assistant district attorney, I see how many of Maine’s criminal cases are about substance use and mental health. As a treatment court prosecutor, I know that so much of our caseload really boils down to resources, but that when those resources are made available, people are capable of recovery and full participation with their communities and families, and we are all better off. As a former town councilor, I understand how what seem like local issues of housing, poverty and the fraying social safety net interplay, perpetuating cycles of criminal conduct. As a lifelong Democrat, I know that because most of the work that prosecutors do occurs behind closed doors, our lived values are what count in changing policy.
I’m running to be Cumberland County’s next district attorney because I know that our county can play a greater leadership role in achieving meaningful criminal justice reform. I’m aware that Maine’s incarceration rate may be low nationally, but it is still more than three times the rate of Canada and four times the rate of most other democracies. We can do much better.
If elected, I will strongly advocate for and work to secure the means of delivering substance use treatment instead of incarceration in appropriate cases. Right now, those struggling with addiction are often charged with a felony for simple drug possession and are exposed to prison terms. This does not help address the real issue. Having watched numerous family friends endure substance use disorder, I know that treatment opportunities are the resource needed, not months in prison.
Racial disparity is also a clear problem in Maine’s criminal legal system. We have put off confronting the growing evidence that there is something amiss in the way we are implementing enforcement of the law. When Black and brown people are three or more times the population in jail than they are of the underlying population, it is time to do more than soul searching. I will ensure that data concerning this issue are fully available and that frank conversations and proposals occur with the affected community to address this problem.
While I recognize very recent efforts to use restorative justice in more cases, it is not as simple as adding a restorative justice requirement willy-nilly, a complaint I hear from defense attorneys. Restorative justice is best used when a meaningful resolution of a case is achieved that allows victims and defendants to engage in a meaningful exchange followed by reparative conduct by the defendant. It is not appropriate to use it for conduct where an underlying substance use issue indicates that a treatment requirement is a smarter option or to resolve minor cases that, given the incredible backlog, should be dismissed with a few hours of community service.
June 14 is a Democratic primary to select our Democratic nominee. While I applaud the recent choice of our current district attorney to register as a Democrat, I have lived my Democratic values over my lifetime, and they deeply define who I am and the choices I make. I have served as vice chair of our local Democratic town committee, and knocked on thousands of doors to get out the vote in a time when our democracy feels increasingly imperiled. My prior career in environmental policy and climate change work centered my Democratic values, and my work as a prosecutor with a problem-solving treatment approach is rooted in those same values with compassion and accountability. My lived values inform the endorsements of my campaign by every Cumberland County Democrat on the Legislature’s Joint Standing Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety, and those of many other Democratic legislators and elected officials.
I look forward to the many upcoming public forums to talk about the critical issues in criminal justice reform, and I hope Cumberland County Democratic voters will participate and engage.
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